The oil and gas industry utilizes deep water production well pipelines and associated processing equipment in subsea environments. These pipelines and equipment can be operated at depths greater than 5,000 ft below sea level, and potentially as deep as 12,000 feet below sea level. At these depths the process fluids coming out of the well head can exceed 300° F., while the surrounding sea water is generally only a few degrees above freezing, i.e., around 34° F. This temperature differential can cause the internal process fluid temperature to dip below 70° F. If the temperature of the process fluids are not maintained above 70° F., these fluids can condense and form thick hydrates, reducing the flow rate of the well head or possibly plugging the equipment completely. This can result in very expensive shutdowns and clean-outs, or possibly necessitate the re-drilling of the well. Moreover, ambient pressure at these depths can be greater than 5,000 psi. A protective insulation used to maintain the process fluid temperature above 70° F. also needs to have high compressive strength to withstand this pressure without cracking or disbonding from the substrate.
Because of the temperature differentials and pressure demands in subsea environments, insulation materials used on deep water production well pipelines and associated processing equipment need to withstand high pressure and protect against the extreme temperature differential. Additionally, insulating materials need to have good hydrolytic stability and not decompose under these high temperature and high pressure immersion conditions.